This post is a bit off the norm for us, but this craigslist post showed up on Facebook today and really frustrated and angered me, so I have drafted a response to this bride to hopefully help enlighten her about wedding photographers. This is not meant to offend or upset anyone, but it’s a true rendition of the day to day ins and outs of running a photography business and why photography costs what it does.
Here was the post linked here: http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/evs/2804332414.html And a recap…
WHY is finding an amazing wedding photographer so difficult? :/
I am a Bride who is getting married this summer and have yet to find a decently priced, exceptional, amazingly talented, fun photographer.
WHY because the word “WEDDING” is involved photographers think they can change you $ 3,000.00 for wedding photos? Oh, because no bride is going to go without so they are going to pay it, because they HAVE to. They are ripping people off for all they have! Why when you want to get married it costs you AT LEAST 15 grand after all is said-and-done? Its such CRAP!! I love all you $ 3,000.00 photographers out there but i think your prices are WACK. All your doing is hanging out at a wedding taking tons of photos and editing them.. and thats owrth 3 GRAND!!! You’re making so much money its crazy. I just wish people would be more realistic. I mean the “average” persons salary for 1 freaking month is somewhere around 3 grand. (Thats making 19$ an hour) So you’re going to take someones WHOLE MONTH paycheck for one flippen day of photos? Just because you CAN!!?????? So that maybe they will not be able to feed themselves or pay any other bills they have, right? It makes me SICK!
I know im speaking for more than just myself right now. Alot of brides out there think the same thing. & I bet all you fancy photographers wont even read this. oh-well.
Maybe there are cheaper photographers that will read this and LOVE to take my photos 
I felt the need to respond, trying to be tactful even through my anger and frustration at the sheer lack of respect tossed by this poster publicly on Craigslist. My response…
Hello:
This is in response to your craigslist ad in regards to wedding photographers charging what they do for their work. Your post has made it to facebook where it has sparked some anger and hard feelings within the photography community. I am replying to help educate you and answer some of your questions about the costs associated with wedding photography and how things may not be how they may appear to you.
Q: WHY is finding an amazing wedding photographer so difficult?
A: Simply put… Because you are searching through a sea of photographers with little experience based what you are willing to pay. Experience is everything in photographing weddings, and you will pay for the experience of each photographer accordingly. Newer photographers are still learning, and while you might find a diamond in the rough, most of your lower priced photographers will not provide the same quality of work as someone who has been in business for many years and educated themselves to perfect their craft. The simple answer is that you get what you pay for, as with most everything.
Q: WHY because the word “WEDDING” is involved photographers think they can change you $ 3,000.00 for wedding photos? Oh, because no bride is going to go without so they are going to pay it, because they HAVE to. They are ripping people off for all they have! Why when you want to get married it costs you AT LEAST 15 grand after all is said-and-done? Its such CRAP!!
A: Your budget is up to you… you can choose to spend money on linens, chair covers, a fancy dress, etc or you can skimp on those things and have amazing photos from your day. A wedding does NOT have to cost $15K, you could choose to elope if you have such an issue with spending that much money.
Q: I love all you $ 3,000.00 photographers out there but i think your prices are WACK. All your doing is hanging out at a wedding taking tons of photos and editing them.. and thats owrth 3 GRAND!!! You’re making so much money its crazy. I just wish people would be more realistic. I mean the “average” persons salary for 1 freaking month is somewhere around 3 grand. (Thats making 19$ an hour) So you’re going to take someones WHOLE MONTH paycheck for one flippen day of photos? Just because you CAN!!?????? So that maybe they will not be able to feed themselves or pay any other bills they have, right? It makes me SICK!
A: Photographers charge what they charge based on their costs associated with doing business. Just like any business photographers work to earn a living and to help feed their families. There are FAR more costs associated than you are even beginning to think about. Here’s a likely scenario of cost and REAL time involved for the $3K photographer…
- The average professional DSLR costs about $3,000. Education to learn how to be a good photographer costs at least that, more often than not MUCH MUCH more. If the photographer has a studio there are those costs, which can be anything from $750 – thousands of $$ per month. There are repair bills for cameras, lenses, flashes and equipment that is used for your wedding. There is second shooter costs of $30-$75/hour. There is gas costs and travel time of often upwards of an hour in each direction to a venue. There are hours spent the morning of a wedding charging batteries, cleaning gear, and getting everything packed and ready to go. There is an average of 8 – 12 hours of shooting time on a wedding day. There is liability insurance that many venues require, and equipment insurance to cover gear that might get dropped or stolen, insurance costs roughly $1,200/year. There are professional licensing costs, and local business license costs to be legal and legit. There are marketing costs associated with websites, blogs, any listings on wedding websites, or print ads, etc. Marketing is often in the thousands of $$’s each year.
- Client communication (emails/phone calls, etc) can be into the dozens of hours in the year or so before the wedding, and continues after the wedding. Editing of an average wedding takes anywhere from 15-40 hours of time after your wedding day. Add in the costs of computers, external hard drives for backing up your images, and photoshop to edit your images. ONE computer with the latest version of photoshop and all of the needed peripherals will run you anywhere from $1,500 – $4,000. If your photographer is creating any slideshows for you or burning discs, there is more time. On average our studio spends between 50-100 hours per wedding to complete the job NOT including the actual day of shooting. And let’s not even get started on income and self employment taxes which take a substancial chunk, and the fact that most photographers don’t have health insurance, etc. The list goes on and on… but THIS is why quality photography is expensive. What your photographer actually sees in their bank account after the wedding is probably less than 1/6 of what you pay to them for the service after all is said and done.
- For our studio there is even more time and cost involved. Both my husband and I shoot weddings together. So that is TWO people’s time involved for your wedding day. With two shooters there is even more editing time involved because there are two people photographing, which also means twice the editing time as well. Let’s not forget two photographers also means twice the cameras, lenses, flashes, etc. And any true professional will always carry duplicate back up gear which is another huge expense. We also have to hire and pay a babysitter for our children on wedding days which runs at least $100-$150 for a 10 hour day of being gone from home. Obviously not all photographers have children, but many do, and this is a business associated cost.
While I am not going to add up the numbers and costs involved, you can see the costs of running a business are VERY high. The above costs/time involved is not even a complete list, but gives you a good idea of a starting point for the average full time photographer. Time is money… for you to say that all photographers do is “hanging out at a wedding taking tons of photos and editing them” is an insult and completely disrespectful to our profession. You really have NO idea what all goes into the business, what it takes to even keep a business alive for the long haul, to thrive and to even begin to make a living in our industry. It’s people like you who have NO appreciation for the art of photography and the real heart behind what we do that have brought the industry to where it is today. While it may look easy to just click a button and sit behind a computer and edit, there is FAR more involved than that. Most photographers are barely making minimum wage. The life may sound glamorous and like we are rolling in dough, but truly, we struggle just like everyone else. Even more so because we don’t have a guaranteed paycheck to turn to every week, we have to WORK for it, and save for months when we might have NO weddings to count on to feed our families.
I know im speaking for more than just myself right now. Alot of brides out there think the same thing. & I bet all you fancy photographers wont even read this. oh-well.
Maybe there are cheaper photographers that will read this and LOVE to take my photos
I know I am speaking for more than just myself right now, I can guarantee you that ALL of the photographers that I know and associate with have the same feelings about your post. If you cannot afford $15K for a wedding or whatever your budget is, then have another type of wedding, or elope and have none at all. If you cannot feed yourself and pay your bills because of a wedding, perhaps you have your priorities out of order. No one is writing checks for you on your behalf and spending your money, only you can choose what you spend it on. Some people can only afford the Hyundai, some can afford the Mercedes. Comparing a “cheap photographer” to a “fancy photographer” is like comparing apples to oranges… There is NO comparison. Each bride makes a choice in what portion of her wedding budget she wants to put towards photography. The photos are truly all you have left from your wedding day… Many brides on a budget choose to cut back on other things in their wedding to have the photographer of their dreams. If you can only afford a few hundred dollars, then find the best photographer that you can find for the money, but it isn’t fair of you to bash the higher priced photographers for their prices. That would be like walking into the Mercedes dealer and calling them “wack” because you could only afford a Hyundai… the logic just doesn’t make any sense. The classier thing to do is to continue looking for the photographer that suits your budget and leave those of us that charge more alone. People pay our prices, so obviously they feel okay with what we charge.
For what it is worth, our studio rate for a six hour day start at $4,000 and tops out in the $10,000 range for full day unlimited coverage on the wedding day. I feel we are worth EVERY penny that our clients spend. We POUR our heart and souls into our business and our client relationships every day and sacrifice our weekends with our families to capture priceless memories for our clients. We work harder than we have ever worked at any “regular” job, and yet we struggle every day at the same time to overcome the disrespect of people like you who put no value in something that you will have for the rest of your life to remember one of the most special days of your life. I’m guessing even the “cheaper photographers” will have no desire to respond to your insult filled ad for services, as it’s pretty obvious you would never appreciate the effort and work they put into your wedding day and the months before and after being of service to you. Best of luck finding the right photographer for you. I hope you have read this with an open mind and gain some respect and insight into the industry that you so publicly bashed.
If you would like to read more about running a photography business I would suggest this link to help you better understand as well. http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/?page_id=16
Thank you,
Cristy Nielsen | Owner/Creative Director
the Nielsens Photography & Design
Oviedo, Florida
Cristy, you’re a legend! Thanks for putting this out there. Seems it’s become quite a world wide hit too, many of us Australian photographers are all over this. Awesomely done mate.
Well explained young lady!
Very well put indeed. I understand however, how a bride could think wedding photographers are over-priced, as I expect most photographers didn’t even realise how much work would be involved prior to getting into the industry. You response however should help others understand the true value of a photographers work.
It was awesome.You spoke for all of us, regardless of where we come from.
I’m glad you responded to that great answers!!!
I would LOVE to know is she writes you back!!! Please keep us posted. I mean, what could she say to that??
Not insulting a Hyundai… they have come a long way over the years and are pretty slick looking cars. I’m comparing cost… Hyundai’s cost FAR less than a Mercedes. That was all…
Um. I LOVE my Hyundai. It runs perfectly (2005). Please don’t bash it.
Thank you for writing to her. I also wrote her an email basically stating the same thing. I myself am not a wedding photographer, but I am a graphic designer. I get many of the same complaints about how easy it must be to produce wedding invites. No one ever thinks about the underlying costs or time put into creative work. My friend is a musician and she told me she gets the same type of criticism. She’s “just” playing music, so why does it cost so much? Everyone is so quick to put down the artists, yet they themselves can’t do what we do. Funny how that works out.
Love that you wrote this email to her and shared it with all of us. I wish every client would understand how many background costs we professional photographers have and how much we get taxed. I agree with everything you said!!
Thank you so much for writing this. That Craigslist post came to my attention for the first time this morning. I almost threw up. You have perfectly articulated all the thoughts that began to circulate through my head. All my best, Alexandra
Bravo! Thank you for caring about our profession enough to write this out! Well said and true. Thank you from a husband/wife team – wedding photographers in the business nine years in MN!! It’s a breath of fresh air!
Brava. Well said. I actually had to finally come up with a per-hour dollar figure based on my costs (and I don’t even maintain a full time studio) to let brides like this know just how much I’m coming out to per hour for my time and talents. Usually that helps them to understand better.
I wonder if professional athletes and movie stars have to put up with this nonsense.
Well done, Cristy!
I responded to that posting as well. Though my response was a quick explanation, your answer was very well articulated. Thank you for educating that young lady.
THANK YOU for putting her in her place =) your response was bullseye! couldn’t have said it better myself
Awww, Cristy, I knew you worked hard for your money but now I appreciate what you do and what you provided for me in that short time I cleaned your home even more!! AND I appreciate my photograoher, Titus from Made In Murfreesboro, 100x more than I did before… Which was a lot!
Xoxoxo
As you can see by my website, I’m not even a wedding shooter but I had to comment on your response with a resounding BRAVO! While wedding shooters are not the only photographers who sacrifice for their craft and who often have to carefully explain the details of running a business, I don’t think any other segment of the industry sweats blood and sheds tears like wedding shooters do. You’re doing very high quality work. Kudos for not compromising your standards and continued success!
Couldn’t agree more Cristy! This sounds just like the same thing I hear about wedding djs. People don’t take into account the value they are getting and end up just looking at price. If price is their only stipulation, quality will be lacking. Love this article! It speaks to photography and all other art forms.
Well done! I am not a photographer but I am in the wedding industry too with catering/ favors and I haven’t had a bride-to-be like that (not yet…and hope and pray that I never will…wishful thinking…) but there are times when I just want to break it down like that to a bride and give her a reality check! I completely agree with your statement. I hope this educates not only her, but everyone (not just brides) who is looking for a SERVICE to a client, on what it takes to run a business and the reason why people charge what they charge…even celebrities have a price for their time.
BRAVO!!!! You get a standing ovation. Thank you for writing this.
Well said, Cristy!
Let’s not forget just the cost of lenses alone… will be 5-10k average for those who are investing in the good stuff.
Well said! I’m a wedding photographer in Des Moines, IA and I wrote a very similarly worded email to her today as well. Who knows if she read either of our emails thoroughly, but I would suspect that there were many others just like ours in her inbox and that they will continue to come as long as the link to her ad stays active. I just hope that some of this leaks out to the eyes and ears of other misinformed brides.
Thank you for taking the time to write and send that response. Everything you said is not only true but I believe also conservative in estimation. A qualified professional photographer is likely bringing to the wedding a minimum of $10,000 of equipment just to get started, not including all the other expenses of running a business, continuing education, etc., not to mention the immeasurable value of talent.
Wow! I can not believe someone would say those things. Your response was perfectly worded and I agree with you 100%.
You did an awesome job responding to this, Cristy! Thank you!
The money we spent with you and your team was worth every penny! My MIL and EVERYONE I know marvels at our wedding photos. I have not seen better than your work. What an ignorant Craigslist post by that girl…and what a wonderful response by the woman who went above and beyond (even did my wedding makeup!) to capture the best moments of the best day of our lives. Kudos to you, John and Margie.
Absolutely 100% agree with everything you said. It is ALL true. It is such a shame that people believe all we do is “take pictures”. It’s not FREE to be a photographer. It costs a lot of money and TIME away from our families. I hope she is able to understand what you’ve relayed and take it to heart. Thanks for sharing!